Long Lost Princess
by RockDiva
Summary: Fish princess Dorinica was fishnapped when she was 16, but her father is convinced she's still alive and is searching for her. Can Marlin, Nemo and, more importantly, Dory help solve the mystery? Loosely based on Anastasia. Written 6-7 years ago! DORLIN
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note -** The following was my second ever fanfiction. I honestly wrote it 6-7 years ago when _Finding Nemo _first came out. I'm feeling nostalgic, so I decided why not post it. I mean, I don't really have to I guess, but I'm going to anyways. This brings back such memories. Back then, I didn't even know about FFN or the term fanfiction for that matter. My writing was unpolished, my plots ridiculous and completely ripped off from other things. I was a mushy gushy Dorlin shipper - back before I knew the term was Dorlin or what shipping even was!- (but hey I'm still in love with the pairing lol) and a bit over the top, kind of make you gag about it :P I was unrealistic with scenarios, made the characters out of character, etc. But despite all of that, I can't help but feel more than attached to this less than perfect piece of fiction. I mean, even when I want to cringe at what I wrote, I think there's just a youthful innocence in my writing and it takes me back to a time when I wasn't trying so very hard with my writing to impress anyone. I was just having fun with my favorite characters :)

So, in this story, we have a general plot ripped from _Anastasia_, but with its own twists. Also, unlike the actual film where it's pretty realistic to underwater life, I made them more anthropomorphic, having pictures, boxes, writing reports in school, having newspapers, etc. Lol, I don't really know what possessed me to make it that way. Furthermore, so many times I didn't do my research on any of underwater life so there's probably a million scientific errors in this story. And since this isn't a re-write, the errors stand as they were first written even though I laugh at some of them now. Oh and I really don't think Dory is spacey enough, but whatevs.

BTW, all flames are welcome on this one :) Or if you want to just make a joke or whatever, feel free. Or if you by chance actually like it, well then that's cool too! Thanks!

_Disclaimer - _If for some reason you believe I own _Finding Nemo _in any part, you are sadly mistaken. I also have no idea if this story was ever done on FFN at anytime since the movie was released. I only just came to this section for nostalgic purposes. So if it is similar, it's purely coincidental.

**Chapter 1**

The sun shone brightly onto the ocean. Deep below the surface a whole world, different from the one on land, was beginning to wake up. At the very edge of the Great Barrier Reef, a young clown fish named Nemo tried to wake his dad, Marlin.

"Dad, get up! Today's the big field trip!" Marlin groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes, "Nemo, do you really have to go on this field trip? Can't you just stay home and let me and Dory take you somewhere fun ourselves? You know, _later_ today?" he yawned and rolled back over.

"Dad!" Nemo said, this time much louder. Marlin jumped, startled by his son. He looked at him and saw the pleading look in Nemo's eyes.

"Pleeeeaaaassse? Everyone else is going. If I don't go, well, everyone's going to tease me and laugh at me."

"Oh no!" Marlin said over dramatically, playing with his son. "I can't let my son, the _clown_ fish, be the actual class _clown_."

Nemo giggled, "Dad… So can I go?"

"Yes, you can go. Now go see if Dory's awake. I'll be there in a minute."

Nemo swam out of their anemone home and towards a very nearby grotto, a cave in the sea rock, just around the corner. This is where their new friend Dory now lived. She had helped Marlin find his son when Nemo had been taken by divers. And now Marlin and Nemo couldn't seem to get rid of her, but they didn't really mind. At least Nemo didn't. Marlin on the other hand sometimes had his doubts.

Nemo swam into the grotto, "Dory, are you awake? Dory?" he didn't see her anywhere. Marlin swam down inside the grotto to where Nemo was. "Dad, Dory isn't here."

Marlin's mind suddenly raced back to a previous memory of a grotto; a memory he thought he had buried long before. He quickly pulled himself back to reality and began to think of all the bad things that could have happened to Dory. He and Nemo began to swim up and out of the grotto. They were at the top and about to swim out when, from out of nowhere, a regal blue tang jumped in their path.

"Boo! Ra-ra-ra, boo!" It was Dory, "That's so much fun! Admit it, I got you guys."

Marlin was relieved, but frustrated at the same time, "Yeah, you got us, and at the same time, nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"Well, sorry. Loosen up, Mr. Grumpy Gills." Dory turned to Nemo, "Is he getting enough sleep?"

"I don't know. Dad, Dory's right. She was just playing a joke on us. Actually, I thought it was funny."

"Okay, this is just great. Here I was worried that something might have happened to Dory and this is how I'm treated? Fine, I get the picture," Marlin began to swim in the direction of the school. Dory and Nemo followed quickly behind.

"I'm sorry, dad," Nemo finally apologized.

"Yeah, me too, dad," Dory added. "Wait, you're not my dad."

"No, I'm not. It's impossible for you and me to be somehow related," Marlin said.

"So why are you so excited, Nimbo? Is it your first day of school? I remember my first day of school!" Dory said excitedly.

"I highly doubt that," Marlin commented sarcastically under his breath as he rolled his eyes. Dory couldn't remember anything! She suffered from short term memory loss. She usually couldn't even remember Nemo's name. However, she claimed to remember better when with Marlin.

"No, it's not my first day of school," Nemo answered patiently. "It's just we're going on this really big, really cool field trip today!"

"So, about this really big, really cool field trip," Marlin said, "when should I pick you up?"

"Mr. Ray said we should be back right at sunset."

"So long?" Marlin stopped himself. He realized he was being too overprotective again. He backed off. He didn't want Nemo to pull another stunt like the one he did the last time Marlin had been overprotective. He added, "Well, sunset's not that long. Where exactly are you going again?"

"I'm not sure. It's a surprise, but Sandy Plankton said it'll probably be somewhere near the EAC. But like Sandy Plankton ever got anything right. I mean, that's too far away." They arrived at the school. The rest of the class was already floating above Mr. Ray's back. Nemo hugged his dad and then joined his classmates, "Bye, dad. Bye, Dory."

"Bye, son! Have fun," Marlin called as Mr. Ray began to swim away.

"Bye, Elmo!" Dory called.

"Nemo," Marlin said.

"Oh. Bye, Nano!"

"Nemo," Marlin said again.

"Oh. Um, bye, son," Dory called. "Wait. Is he my son or your son?"

"My son," Marlin rolled his eyes again.

"Okay, got it. Bye-" Marlin cut her off.

"Dory, he's already gone. Let's go." He turned back towards his house. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to wake you up. The longer you're asleep, the longer my day is peaceful."

"Hey! That's not nice," Dory's eyes widened, "Don't you like me anymore?"

"Please, don't start with me, Dory. It's too early for this." Wanting to get away for a little bit, Marlin spotted one of Nemo's friend's guardians, "Hey!" he said to the seahorse.

"Oh, hey, Marlin! Did you hear the news?" the seahorse asked.

"What news?" Marlin asked curiously.

"Well, have you ever heard of crown prince Nathanial?" he asked.

"Sure, he's crown prince and heir to the throne of the far east corner of the Pacific Ocean. Who hasn't heard of him?" he answered.

"Yeah, well, now he's the king. And as his first royal act, he's issuing an entire ocean search for his daughter," the seahorse said.

"You mean Princess Dorinica? But wasn't she fishnapped when she was 16?"

"Yeah, but King Nathanial's convinced she's still alive. And he's calling for the help of either anybody who thinks they've seen her or anyone who had ever known her at the palace," he replied.

"Well, that's almost impossible," Dory, who had been listening in, added, "Princess Dorinica knew lots of fish."

"How do you know?" the seahorse asked immediately. "Did you know her?" Dory shook her head no.

"Don't mind her," Marlin said. "Even if she did ever know the princess, she probably wouldn't remember. Her short term memory's not that good."

"Oh, yeah. I remember you telling me that," the seahorse said.

"At least someone remembers things," Marlin sighed, still slightly agitated with the blue tang beside him. "Well, I've gotta get home. My wife used to know the princess. I'm going to go through her things. Thanks for the info. Bye!" Marlin said quickly and swam away.

It took Dory a minute to realize what happened. When she did, she yelled, "Hey, wait up!" and swam after him.

The seahorse watched the two fish as they slowly disappeared from sight. "Poor Marlin," he finally whispered to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Well, class, here we are," Mr. Ray stopped and let the kids off his back. "It's the remains of an ancient pirate ship."

"Wow! Cool!" The whole class said at once.

"Feel free to explore, but stay in groups and don't go too far." Mr. Ray warned.

Nemo found his friends: Tad, a butterfly fish; Pearl, an octopus; and Sheldon, a seahorse. They went inside the pirate ship.

"Whoa! This is neat," Sheldon said excitedly.

"I bet the EAC would have been cooler though. Isn't that right, Nemo?" Tad asked.

"Yeah, but it takes like a day to get there. So, I guess this is okay too." Nemo tried to look on the bright side.

After awhile, they all heard Mr. Ray calling for the class to gather together for a history lesson. They all listened as he talked about the pirates who used to sail the Seven Seas. After the lesson he let them explore again, but before he did, he decided to tell them what they would be working on when they got back from spring break.

"Now when you all get back from spring break, we'll be learning how the family history of every fish is unique. What I would like each of you to do is write a report." The class groaned. "The first 3 parts should be written as paragraphs in an essay. The topics of the 3 paragraphs should be as follows: about your dad, about your mom, and how they met. So very simple really."

Nemo looked around at his classmates. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "And the fourth part will be a speech you will give in class," Mr. Ray continued. "You may pick your own topics, but it must have something to do with you and your parents. Now, just so you all have something to look forward to, on the day you're all supposed to give your speeches, we'll throw a party and invite your parents. How's that sound?" The whole class cheered. Everyone except Nemo. "Now, go have fun. We'll be heading back soon." Once again, the young fish scattered and explored the ship.

* * *

Back at the anemone, Marlin was slowly pulling out his wife's old things. Things he thought he'd never have to make himself look at again. Dory came over to him, "Are you okay?" Marlin shook his head yes. "So, um, how did it happen?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, Dory," Marlin answered.

"Oh," Dory looked down, feeling bad that she had asked. "Okay, I'll leave you alone for awhile." She turned and began to swim out of the anemone (although it was never an easy task as she had to wait for the tentacles to be just wide enough for her to get in and out with minimal stinging.)

"Wait." For some reason, Marlin didn't want her to leave. For once he felt as if he needed her to stay with him. Without warning, he began to tell her what happened. "It was almost 8 years ago. My wife and I were about to be parents. You can imagine our excitement. There were over 400 eggs, but we were ready. Well, at least she was. Me, I was worried, but what else is new? Anyways, we had just moved into this anemone. I was the one who insisted we live by the drop-off. My wife wasn't as insistent. She knew all the dangers the open sea could hold, but she stayed because she knew it was what I wanted." Marlin stopped to make sure Dory was still paying attention. To his surprise, she was. He continued, "I had been…uh…playing with my wife. I was chasing her around and she swam out of the anemone and I followed her out, but froze when I saw her staring straight at a barracuda. I urged her to get back in the house. But then I saw her glance down at a grotto where our eggs were. I told her they'd be fine, but…but," He stopped for a moment.

The memories seemed to haunt him. He felt as if he were reliving the entire experience. Yet he made himself go on. "I don't know why she did it. We could have had more, but…_she _couldn't be replaced! Before I could stop her, she dashed toward the grotto: the barracuda was right on her fin. I swam with all my might; I just had to save her. I fought the barracuda, but in an instant, I was flung into the anemone and everything…went black." Dory gasped as Marlin continued. "I don't know how long I was out, but when I came back around, I rushed out of the anemone. Coral wasn't there. The grotto was empty. She wasn't there either. I cried out for Coral…Coral! Coral! Coral!" The memories were stronger now than they'd ever been. Before he knew it, Marlin was crying, still calling for his wife.

Suddenly, he felt a fin on his head. He thought he heard Coral's voice for just a moment. There, there. It's alright…" He looked up to see that it was Dory. "It'll be alright, Marlin."

He couldn't believe what had just happened. He'd not only embarrassed himself with his unstable memories, but he'd also mistaken Dory's voice for Coral's. He wanted nothing more than to change the subject. "Hey! Wait a minute! You just called me Marlin," the fact struck him suddenly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Dory apologized. "Is that not your name?"

"No, no. It is my name. It's just, you've never used it before. You've never called me by my name."

"Oh. Do you not want me to?" she asked.

"No, I mean, yes you can. Do whatever you want. It beats Mr. Grumpy Gills," he laughed a little.

"Okay. So what happened after you found your wife gone?" She wanted to hear the rest, which surprised Marlin a little. He had assumed she would have forgotten by now what they had even been talking about.

"Well," he hesitated. "I turned and was about to swim away and never come back, but then something caught my eye. There was one, tiny egg left. It had been slightly hurt, but at least it was still alive. I carefully picked it up and that was the day I promised I would never let anything happen to it; to my Nemo."

"Wow, that's sad," Dory said honestly.

"You know, Coral was the one who wanted one of the eggs to be named Nemo, but I never got to find out why," Marlin commented.

"Probably something to do with her friend, uh, that princess fish's grandpa," Dory offered.

Marlin looked at her with disbelief. "Sometimes I wonder if you're even from the same planet," but this time he wasn't frustrated. In fact, he found it to be somewhat amusing. "Dory, you're something else."

Dory looked confused. "But I thought I was a fish. What else could I be?" Marlin just laughed. For the first time, in a long time, he was enjoying himself with Dory.

* * *

Marlin, Nemo and Dory swam together. The sun was just about to set.

"So how was the field trip?" Marlin asked his son.

"Just great," Nemo replied unenthusiastically.

"What?" Marlin teased. "Not as good as Mr. Ray made it out to be?"

"No, no. That's not it. The field trip was great. It's just, well, something else." Nemo answered.

"Nemo," Marlin got serious. "Don't keep secrets from me. I can't be there for you if you do. What happened? Did you get in trouble?"

"No," Nemo said."

"Get in a fight?" Marlin continued guessing.

"No."

"Fall in love!" Dory chimed in. Marlin looked at Dory in confusion, but then at his son anxiously, dreading that he might say yes.

"Ew! No!" Nemo said quickly.

Marlin gave a small sigh of relief under his breath. He wasn't ready to face that problem with his son just yet. "So what is it?" Marlin asked again. "And no more stalling." By this time, they had reached the anemone, but hadn't gone in yet.

"Okay," Nemo began his explanation. "Mr. Ray said that when we get back from spring break, we have to study how each fish's family history is unique. We have to write a 3 paragraph essay and give a speech. And on the day we have to give our speeches, we're going to throw a party an invite our parents. It's bad enough knowing I'll be the only one there with just one parent, but what's worse is that the topic of the second paragraph in the essay is supposed to be about our mom. I don't know anything about mom!" Little Nemo looked as though he were on the verge of crying. Marlin didn't know what to say. Now he did wish the problem had been Nemo falling in love.

He glanced at Dory. He wondered if she still remembered the story from earlier that day, but before he had time to doubt that she did, Dory spoke up. "Hey, what a coincidence, Neeno. Your dad was telling me about your mom today. Isn't that…" she stopped herself when she saw the tears in Nemo's eyes. "Oops, maybe I…" she didn't finish.

Nemo turned to his dad. "How could you? You told Dory? You've haven't even told me! And she was my mom!"

"And she was my wife, Nemo. I was going to tell you too," Marlin responded quickly.

"Yeah right. When? When I'm dying or something?"

"Now that was uncalled for, mister," Marlin disliked even the thought of losing Nemo. "Do you want me to send you to your room?" Marlin asked threateningly.

"You don't have to! I can get there by myself," Nemo said defiantly and then swam into the anemone.

"Was it something I said?" Dory asked innocently.

"No, Dory. It's never your fault is it?" Marlin answered harshly, not caring that he was hurting Dory's feelings. "And I guess that it's not your fault that, thanks to you, my son will probably never speak to me again. You know what, Dory, just go home. I don't know where you came from, but wherever it is, just go find it and please…stay there." Tears swelled up in Dory's eyes. She turned and swam away crying.

Marlin entered the anemone glumly. He swam over to the boxes he had been going through earlier. He stumbled across a picture of him and Coral. He stared at it motionlessly. Suddenly, the picture of Coral turned into a picture of Dory. He couldn't believe his eyes! He closed them, shook his head and the picture, and then opened them again. Once more, it was a picture of him and Coral. It had apparently just been his imagination. "But why?" he thought.

Suddenly he realized what he had done. He had told Dory to go away forever! His heart began to race. He had to find her and apologize. She couldn't have gotten too far!

* * *

**Author's Note - **So dramatic, yes? Lol. I honestly think that after this point Dory gets more and more out of character...so you've been warned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Dory swam by herself. She was still crying, but managed to talk out loud to herself, "I'm so stupid. I hurt Niffo." She stopped crying for a moment and found a piece of seaweed to use to blow her nose. "What's worse, I hurt Marlin." The tears swelled up again and she began crying just as hard, if not harder than she had been before. Her eyes were so blurred by tears, she didn't notice the electric eel swimming straight toward her.

Marlin searched as far as his eye could see. There was no sign of Dory anywhere. He was about to call out her name when he was stopped by the sound of sobs. He turned and looked in the direction they seemed to be coming from. There was nothing there. He swam a little further. Now he could make out the outline of something. He got a little closer. His heart nearly stopped. The outline was that of and electric eel, and it was heading towards a blue dot. Dory!

Marlin swam as fast as he could. "Dory!" He yelled.

Dory stopped crying, "It couldn't be." She turned to see Marlin swimming towards her. "Marlin!" she exclaimed.

"Dory, look out!" Marlin warned.

Dory turned back around to find herself nearly face to face with the eel. "Oh, dear. Ahhhh!" She screamed. The eel was about to wrap its deadly tail around Dory when, out of nowhere, a giant lobster snapped its claw around the tail.

Unaffected by the electric shock, he yelled, "Swim away, ma'am!" Dory was still frozen with fear.

Again, out of nowhere, another fish came to the rescue. This time it was a gold-rim tang. He hurried between Dory and the eel and began to slap the eel's face with his back fin. "You heard the man, miss, swim away."

Before she could, the eel bit the tang and sent him flying through the water. The lobster immediately let go of the eel's tail and hurried to help his friend, leaving Dory once again alone to face the eel. But not for long. Marlin raced up beside her. "What do we do?" he thought to himself. Before giving it a second thought, he jumped in the eel's face and he yelled, "Hungry, you overgrown light bulb? Well, try and catch me!" He swam away quickly, looking over his shoulder to see the eel right on his tail. "Great, now what?" He asked himself out loud.

Suddenly, he saw a giant seaweed forest. Perfect! Fish could get lost in a seaweed forest for days. But now how could he get the eel in there without going in himself? He had the answer! He made a sudden stop right outside the forest. The eel was so long and was going so fast it couldn't stop in time and flew straight into the forest and didn't come back out.

Without warning, Dory rushed up to Marlin and hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over.

Feeling relieved that they were both safe now, Marlin whispered, "You're welcome and I'm sorry for what I said. You belong with me…and Nemo. Your home is back at the grotto." The gold-rim tang and lobster swam up to them. Marlin realized he and Dory were still hugging. Embarrassed, Marlin pulled away and cleared his throat. "Well, thanks for helping my friend," Marlin said to them. "My name is Marlin and this is Dory."

"Hello," the tang responded. "My name is Silver and this is Lobby," he motioned to the lobster.

"Silver?" Marlin looked puzzled. "But you're…"

"Gold? I know. Joke by my parents. Trust me, it got old fast." He looked over at Dory. "Do why didn't you swim away when you first saw the eel?" Marlin had been wondering the same thing, but then again this was Dory they were talking about.

"Well," she answered, "I didn't see it. I was crying and not really paying attention." Marlin's heart quickened. Because of him, Dory was almost eel food. Saying he felt horrible was an understatement.

"Crying?" The tang asked, "Who on earth would have the nerve to make a lady cry?"

"I don't remember," Dory replied. "Do you, Marlin?"

"Yes," he confessed guiltily. "It was me."

"It was?" Dory gasped and then remembered. "Oh yeah, you were yelling at me and then you told me to, um, what was it? Oh yeah, to leave."

"What's with you, man?" Silver asked. "Is it your idea of fun yelling at a lady? You should be ashamed of yourself. I oughta…"

Dory cut him off. "Leave Marlin alone! Pick on someone your own size, like me." She put her fins up as a guard and asked, "You want a piece of me?"

When Silver also put up his fins, Dory wasn't expecting it and rushed behind Marlin to hide. Taking advantage of the situation and being the jokester he was, Silver began play boxing to look intimidating. However, one of his fins went too far and socked Marlin. Marlin faltered back, trying to regain his senses.

"You actually hit him!" Dory exclaimed angrily. "Why you, you, you…shark! Actually, sharks are better than you! He didn't do anything to you." She slapped Silver, grabbed Marlin's fin and swam away.

"What just happened here?" Lobby asked after Marlin and Dory were out of sight. "Why'd you hit him?"

"I didn't mean to. I mean, if he made her cry, he did deserve it maybe, but why'd she hit me?"

"I wonder. Maybe because you hit her man?" Lobby offered sarcastically.

"Her man? You really think he is?" Silver was curious.

"Obviously. I mean, you saw the way they were hugging. Wait a minute! Why do you care if he's her man or not? Oh no! Not again. I'm not going to let you try and steal another woman's heart. Every time you do, you just end up breaking it. Just forget about her," Lobby warned.

"No, no. Just hear me out. Why are we back in this part of the ocean anyways?" Silver asked.

"To find the Princess Dorinica, of course. Why?" Lobby was confused.

"Look at this picture I found in one of the newspapers." He handed a newspaper clipping to Lobby. "Now one of these fish is the princess," he said, talking about the two fish in the picture.

"Well, this one," Lobby interrupted, "looks a lot like…"

Silver finished, "A lot like Dory."

"You don't think?" Lobby questioned.

"It might be possible. Think about it. Her name is Dory. Doesn't it sound like a nickname for Dorinica?" Silver pointed out.

"Wow! I didn't think of that," Lobby admitted. "But what if it's just a coincidence?"

"Well, if it is, nobody will know but us thanks to our back up plan," Silver answered.

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot," Lobby didn't seem too enthusiastic. "You know this other fish sort of looks like the clown fish you socked," Lobby commented.

"Most all the clown fish look the same. Besides, look closer. That's a girl clown fish," Silver corrected.

"Oh, I see. So how are we supposed to convince them that Dory might be a princess? I don't think you're exactly on their good side right now," Lobby laughed as he talked.

"Yeah, well, we'll convince them somehow," Silver assured his friend.

"Maybe we should consult the boss first," Lobby suggested.

"No," Silver responded firmly. "We're not dragging him into this too. Not yet."

* * *

"Dad, are you okay?" Nemo couldn't believe it as he came out of his room and saw his dad and Dory. "Who gave you the black eye?"

"Nemo, you know the seaweed growing outside my home?" Dorry asked and Nemo nodded. "It's just the right kind to put on your father's black eye." Nemo swam out of the anemone quickly to retrieve some.

"You know," Marlin said while Nemo was gone. "I deserve this black eye. Especially after what I said to you. So why'd you stand up for me?"

"First of all," Dory replied, "you don't deserve that black eye. Second of all, I don't exactly remember what you said to me. All I remember is it felt like a piece of heart was being torn off. But that's not so bad."

"Not so bad? Are you serious?" How could she be so forgiving, Marlin wondered. "You know what. You're right. I don't deserve a black eye. I deserve two! So if you could just punch my other eye, I'd appreciate it," he said jokingly as he grabbed Dory's fin, pushing it towards his eye. Both were laughing when Nemo swam back into the anemone with the seaweed. Marlin quickly let go of Dory's fin.

"Here you go," Nemo handed the seaweed to Dory and then yawned.

"Hey, little man, it's past your bedtime," Marlin said lovingly, but firmly. "You'll need to get some sleep because tomorrow we've got to get you started on your report. I'll take you to the place I met your mom, but it's kind of far, so we'll have to get up early. How's that sound?"

"Aw, thanks dad! Oh and I'm sorry about earlier. I love you," he gave his dad a hug and then swam to his room.

"I'm glad that's over with." Marlin gave a sigh of relief and rubbed his face, forgetting about his black eye. "Ow!"

"Careful! Don't touch it," Dory reminded him. She took the sea weed and crushed it so that a little of the plant's juice squeezed out. She took it and gently patted Marlin's eye. "There, there. This will help. No more pain," she said softly and in her usual sing song voice.

Marlin's pain seemed to melt away, but to his surprise so did his heart. He couldn't figure out what was happening to him. Effortlessly, he began to fall asleep, still listening to Dory softly reassure him that the pain would go away. She was right, he knew, but he began to think the healing wouldn't come from just the seaweed.

* * *

**Author's Note - **I wasn't very good at the action scenes back then (actually, I still kind of struggle). I giggle now at how unbelievable it is. And I giggle at how lovey-dovey I was with the Dorlin pairing. I doubt half of the audience could have stomached anything I'd put into the script if it were up to me :P Reviews and flames still welcome :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Okay, Dory, remember: be careful," Marlin said with a worried tone. Once a week, Dory attended a meeting with her 'Fish Eaters Anonymous' group. The only other members were 3 sharks, whom they had first met when searching for Nemo. Marlin knew, from their first day knowing Bruce, that sharks could turn savage at anytime. So, while he did trust them, he still wanted Dory to be extremely cautious. He swam over to Bruce. "You guys are on the last step, right? So you'll be done with the meetings soon?" Marlin was relieved to hear Bruce's answer.

"Yep. This is the last official meeting. And then next week she can come pick up her certificate of achievement," Bruce explained. He then looked closer at Marlin's eye. The swelling had gone down, but it was still bruised. "Who gave you the black eye, mate?"

"A tang fish. I'd rather not talk about it. So, uh, could the 3 of you escort Dory to the park after your meeting? I'd appreciate it," Marlin looked hopeful.

"Sure thing. You and your son go have fun. And hey, Nemo, try and stay away from boats okay," Bruce said with a laugh as Marline and Nemo swam away from sight.

* * *

"It's hopeless," a clown fish said to his wife. "We're never going to see her again."

"Honey, don't say that," his wife comforted him. "You never know what may happen."

"I know, but I still feel like it was my fault. Maybe if I hadn't insisted she go to that boarding school, oh, I don't know. Maybe she'd still be here with us," the clown fish said with regret.

"Darling, you know it's not your fault. It could have happened anywhere. Stop blaming yourself." She then sighed and added, "If they don't find her within the month, please just call off the whole thing. I don't think either of us can bear to have our hearts broken any longer," she pleaded before swimming out of the room.

"Please show her the way back," he silently prayed, but wondered if it would ever be answered.

* * *

"I wish Dory was with us," Nemo said with a sigh.

"I know, but I think it's kind of nice," Marlin replied. "You and I haven't spent much of any father/son time since we met Dory."

"I guess, but the whole six years before we met our entire life was nothing but father/son time," Nemo pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was when I was hardly brave enough to leave the anemone. Now I can take you so many cool places without worrying, or at least a lot less worrying," Marlin reminded him.

"That's true. Let's just forget I mentioned it."

Marlin stopped swimming. "What's wrong, Nemo? There's something the matter. I can tell."

"How can you tell?" Nemo asked curiously.

"Your mother used to have the same look in her eyes when something was bothering her. You're so much like her, Nemo. I guess that's why I've had a hard time talking about her to you," Marlin explained as he tried to hold back the tears.

"Really? I am?" Nemo sounded excited as Marlin nodded. He decided to concede and tell his father what was bothering him."Okay, well I was just thinking about last night. I kind of saw you holding fins with Dory."

"You did?" Marlin wondered what his son must be thinking. "If that's what's bothering you, I'm sorry. I was just playing around with Dory. It wasn't like…like…well, like that," he felt awkward as he tried to explain.

"What? Oh, I know. I didn't mean…no, uh, I'm sorry. I…" Nemo stuttered, embarrassment evident on his face. "I didn't mean that I thought you were. It just made me realize something is all. I mean, I wish I knew mom, but I know there's nothing I can do to change what happened. So, I guess last night I just realized what bothers me is that I'm the only one around with just one parent and not that I never knew mom."

"Oh, I see." Suddenly Marlin wasn't so sure he was comfortable with the conversation. Not if it was heading in the direction he thought it might be heading. "Nemo, what are you trying to suggest?"

"Nothing. It's just…" he had a hard time asking the question. "Dad, are you ever going to get married again?"

Despite his gut feeling having told him the question was coming, it still shocked him. "So that's what this is about. You want a mom?"

Nemo nodded shyly. "It's not that I don't wish it could be mom, mom, but I don't know how to explain it."

"I understand," Marlin sighed. "You know, Nemo, I just can't ask the first fish I see. These kinds of things take time. Besides, there aren't any fish around here for me to even consider," Marlin answered.

"What about Dory?" Nemo asked, not even missing a beat.

"Dory?" Marlin repeated. "She's not even a clown fish."

"So? Mr. Ray says interspecies marriage is quickly becoming a modern trend to be commended," Nemo quoted precociously.

"Oh he does, does he?" One brow seemed to be raised higher than the other as Marlin looked at his son. "Yes, well, son, I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with Dory," he laughed a little as if to prove how preposterous the idea was.

"Why not? I can. How do you know unless you give her a chance?" Nemo was relentless.

"What do you mean give her a chance? What am I supposed to do? Take her on a date?" Marlin asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Nemo exclaimed, much to Marlin's surprise.

"I can't believe this. My 7 year old son is trying to set me up." There was silence as Marlin studied his eager son in disbelief. Suddenly, his thoughts turned to the night before. He remembered how he had felt with Dory so near. Maybe Nemo had a point. Maybe he should give it a chance. "Fine. You win. I'll take Dory on a date and I'll try to have fun and…and I can't even believe what I'm saying." He covered his face with his fins.

"Thatnks, Dad!" Nemo hugged him.

"Yeah, well, now you owe me. Got it?" Marlin joked as he hugged his son.

* * *

"Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're back," an excited lobster hugged her husband. "Please tell me you'll be able to stay for awhile, Lobby."

"Well…" he was hesitant.

"Dang it, Lobby! Don't you get it? You have a family and we're right here," she said, almost pleaded.

"I know, Lucy, but we think we found her! The princess Dorinica herself!"

"What? Already? Are you sure?" She couldn't believe it. "You're going to tell me the royal guard searches for 8 years and doesn't even find a trace of the princess yet the two of you search for a few weeks and…voila! Out of thin air you find her?"

"That's exactly what we're saying," Silver answered as he joined them.

"Okay, I think you two have been working too hard. Maybe you should get some rest," she said disregarding their idea.

"No, it's true. It's very possible that we've found the princess," Lobby insisted.

"Look at this picture." Silver handed the newspaper clipping to Lucy. "One of those fish is the princess. You see the blue one? Well, we met a fish who looks exactly like that."

"And her name is Dory. That could be short for Dorinica!" Lobby added.

"Coincidence? I doubt it," Silver seemed confident.

"But what if it is just a coincidence?" Lucy asked. "Then what?"

"Then we just consul our boss and he'll take it from there," Silver answered.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I really dislike that…"

"Honey, honey, calm down. Listen to me," Lobby coaxed. "We're going to need your help with this."

"Me? What for!" The statement caught her off guard.

"Well, you see, it'll be up to Silver and me to convince her she could be the princess. But once we do, it'll be up to you to be her friend. Find out about her. Her past, everything you possibly can. That'll help us know for sure whether she's the princess or not. So will you do it?"

"Why can't the two of you do it?" Lucy asked, not wanting to give in.

"Because, she has a few good reasons not to trust either of us," Lobby laughed nervously and looked at Silver incriminatingly.

"I don't to, but I will," she agreed. "But only because I want to see my husband longer. Besides, I think our son should get to see what his father is always doing. I want him to see what you think is so much more important than him."

"Now, Lucy, that's not fair. You know I love clay more than anything in the ocean," Lobby argued.

"Yeah, well, you can say that all you want," she replied matter-of-factly, "but until you can actually prove it, well, the ocean still looks pretty big and your son is still very small." The words tore into Lobby's heart. He loved his family, but they were falling apart. "I'll go tell Clay about the trip. I'm sure he'll be excited to see his father again." With that, she excused herself and Lobby was left speechless. He knew a million words couldn't glue his family back together.

* * *

Marlin looked at his son nervously. "I know I promised you I'd do this, but I don't think I can do this."

"Dad, calm down. You'll be fine. You've been alone with Dory lots of times."

"Yeah, but never under this kind of pressure!"

"What pressure?" Nemo asked casually. "Don't think of it as a date. Let's put it this way: Dory's a friend, right?"

"Right."

"And you have fun with her sometimes, right?"

"Right."

"Then think of it as going to dinner with a friend and having fun."

"Right. Okay. I can do this," Marlin said with new determination. "You know, I'm the one who's been married before. So how come you're the one with all the answers?" he asked jokingly.

"It's a gift," Nemo answered, instigating laughter from both of them. "Besides, knowing Dory, she probably doesn't even remember it's supposed to be a date."

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" Dory rushed around her grotto. "I can't believe it! A date with Marlin! I haven't been on a date since…" She stopped and gave a blank expression. "Oh well. Hmm, I wonder if I should use starfish pink or red tide red," she contemplated the two lipstick colors. "Oh no! I'm late!" She dropped the two lipsticks and darted out of the grotto. She was swimming so quickly she ran straight into Marlin. "Oh no! I'm so sorry. I…I…oh boy. Now I've ruined everything."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm okay," Marlin reassured her. "Let's just go. Good night, Nemo," he said as they passed the anemone.

"Good night, dad. Have fun!" Nemo called after them and then added under his breath, "Please fall in love."

* * *

"So, um, you look nice tonight," Marlin wasn't sure what else to say. Of course he knew Dory looked the same as she always did, but he had to say something, anything. The silence was driving him crazy.

"Oh, uh, thanks. So, why are we doing this again?" Dory was curious as to what had caused Marlin to ask her out in the first place.

"Well, it was Nemo's idea," Marlin admitted. "Nemo says when a guy and a lady are friends, they have to date at least once. He says it's some sort of rule or something."

"Hmm, that's weird. I don't remember reading that in the '8 Steps to Perfect Romance' guidebook," Dory tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, neither do…" Marlin stopped. "Wait a second? You've read that book too!"

"Of course, who hasn't?"

"Well, a lot of fish. Just about nobody," Marlin answered.

"Really? I didn't know that. So why'd you read it?"

"Well," Marlin blushed a little. "I fell in love, but I didn't know how to even say hi to the girl," Marlin bravely confessed.

"What line did you use?"

"Excuse me miss, but I think I have a hook in my lip," Marlin quoted from memory.

"Ooh, the ol' hook line. Nice. So, did you sink her?" She asked excitedly.

"Yep. 3 months later, Coral and I were married." There was an awkward silence. Dory wasn't sure if Marlin was comfortable talking about his wife. She seemed to have a fuzzy memory of him being uncomfortable before. She wanted to say something, but didn't know what. Luckily, Marlin broke the silence first. "So, why did you read the book?"

"I fell in love too," her eyes glazed with tears.

"What's wrong?" Marlin didn't want Dory to cry. Ever since he'd first met her, it made him feel bad when she cried.

"He didn't want anything to do with me. He told me I was annoying and stupid and not pretty enough to make up for my problems," Dory explained, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"What?" Marlin couldn't believe it. "Someone actually told you that? Well, then you didn't need him anyways."

"I know, but everything he said was true. I am annoying. I'm sure even you think so." Guilt stabbed at Marlin's heart. "And I am stupid. I can't remember anything. And I'm not pretty enough. He might have been a jerk, but he was right."

"Now listen to me," without thinking, he grabbed Dory's fin. "Nothing that jerk said is true. You trust everybody and you like to enjoy life. That doesn't make you annoying. That makes you friendly and adventurous. Second of all, you're not stupid. So you can't remember everything. You still have a heart that cares for everyone and everything." By this time Dory had stopped crying. "And finally, the last time I saw a fish as pretty as you was the day I met my wife."

"Really?" Dory sniffled.

"Really. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." Dory smiled and Marlin felt as if some secret door inside his heart had been unlocked after too many years of being closed. He looked down and noticed he was still holding Dory's fin. He quickly let go and said, "Um, we better eat before our food gets cold." They both finished their meal in silence, but they knew the silence was golden. More words would have spoiled the moment.

Later that night, Nemo heard laughter outside the anemone. His dad and Dory were back. He got out of bed and swam to his bedroom door. "Good night, Dory. See you tomorrow," Marlin said and then came inside. "Phew, I'm glad that's over with." Disappointment fell across Nemo's face. His attempt to find a new mom had failed. He turned and swam back to his bed before he could hear his father finish, "Then again, I wish the night could have lasted forever."

* * *

**Author's Note - **As I was typing this up (because the original story is completely on paper as I didn't have computer back in the day), I totally realized that newspaper pictures usually identify who is who in the picture lol. So they wouldn't have to guess who was the princess in the picture. Lol, plot hole. But I guess we can just use our imaginations and assume newspapers are different under the sea. (I still don't get why I made everything so au-ish.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Nemo played hide and seek with Tad and Pearl in the park. His dad hovered nearby while Dory was playing on the seaweed swing.

"Hey, Marlin," she called. "Come over and try this."

He swam over to her. "Me swing? I don't think so. I'm too old. But you go ahead and have fun."

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper." She jumped off. "We can take turns. I'll push you and then you can push me. You're never too old to swing. Come on," she coaxed.

After a little hesitation, he gave in. After getting on, Dory started pushing him. "Woohoo! This IS fun!"

"See! I told you so. Now my turn!"

"No way. I just got on."

"Don't be stingy! It's my turn!" Dory said again.

"Okay, okay. But just a short turn!" Marlin hopped off and let Dory back on. He swam behind her and gave her a push as she squealed with excitement.

Pearl heard their laughter and stopped to see what they were doing. Nemo and Tad, who had been chasing behind, ran straight into her.

"Ow!" Tad exclaimed. "Hey! Why'd you stop?"

Pearl pointed one of her tentacles. "Isn't it so romantic?" she sighed.

"Ew, gross. Someone cover my eyes. I'm getting see-sick," Tad grimaced.

"Sea-sick?" Nemo repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, sick of what I'm seeing!" Tad laughed at his own joke.

"Oh, grow up, Tad! What do you think, Nemo?" Pearl looked at him.

He remembered what his dad had said the night before. "I think I'm with Tad on this one."

"What? Pearl couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But you're the one who was trying to get them together."

"Yeah, well, things change," Nemo replied coldly. "Now are we going to finish the game?" Nemo swam off. Pearl and Tad gave each other confused looks and then swam after him.

Marlin was still pushing Dory. He was getting ready to tell her it was his turn when he spotted something from the corner of his eye. It was Silver and Lobby. "Oh no," he said out loud to himself.

"What? What is it?" Dory looked up and saw them as well. "Hey, is that the fish who…what was it…uh…"

"Punched me?" Marlin finished. "Yes. I've gotta hide."

"No you don't. I'm here with you."

"Why doesn't that seem to make me feel better?"

"Well, hello there!" Silver was the first one to speak.

"What are you doing here?" Dory asked with a huff. "Come to bully Marlin some more? You did say he bullied you right?" She looked at Marlin to make sure she hadn't forgotten.

Lobby couldn't help, but laugh. "I swear it was an accident," Silver defended. "I didn't actually mean for any of the punches to hit him. Honest, ma'am. I didn't mean to hurt your…" Silver paused before deciding to use the word, "husband."

Marlin and Dory looked at each other and then back at Silver. "We're not married," they said simultaneously, both feeling embarrassed.

"Are we?" Dory looked at Marlin questioningly.

"No. We're not."

"Oh. Well, then I apologize for that mistake too," Silver spoke again. "Now that everything's cleared up, my friend Lobby and I have something important to speak to you about."

"Yes, you see," Lobby jumped in, "we're looking for the Princess Dorinica and…"

"And you're wondering if I knew anything about her," Marlin cut him off. "Look, I know my wife was her best friend, but…"

"No, no. I mean, Silver and I think Dory here could be the princess."

"Oh, I see. You think Dory…" Marlin stopped as it sank in. "What? Are you serious?"

"Yes, think about it. Dory, Dorinica?" Lobby pointed out.

"Wait a second!" Silver had an epiphany. "Did you say your wife was friends with the princess?"

"Yes."

"Was she a clown fish?"

"No, she was a whale," Marlin answered sarcastically.

"Wow! Did she speak whale?" Dory asked excitedly.

"Ignoring Dory, Marlin continued, "Of course she was a clown fish."

"Lobby, the clipping please." Lobby handed it to Silver. "Is that clown fish your wife?"

Marlin gasped as he took the clipping and looked at it. "Coral? Yes. That was my wife. But this other one…it can't be." He looked at Dory.

"Hey, look! It's me!" Dory pointed. "Wasn't I such a cute kid?" she asked obliviously.

"That proves it!" Lobby exclaimed.

"Proves what?" Marlin was having a hard time keeping up.

"Well, if we know that one of those fish is the princess and if we now know that the clown fish, your wife, was her best friend, then that leaves Dory as…"

"Princess Dorinica," Marlin couldn't believe it. His mind went back to his conversation with Bob the seahorse in which Dory had said the princess had known a lot of fish. His mind then fast forwarded to when Dory had mentioned Nemo's name having something to do with the princess' grandfather. Was it possible? Could Dory really be the princess?

"So, don't you remember being the princess?" Lobby asked curiously.

"Well, you see, I suffer from short term memory loss. I think it runs in my family, but I didn't have a problem until I was a teenager. Or at least I think I was a teenager. Hmm," Dory wore a thoughtful expression.

"That's perfect!" Silver exclaimed. "The princess was fishnapped as a teenager. Maybe something happened to you that caused you to have memory problems."

"It could explain a lot," Lobby chimed in.

Nemo swam over to them. "What's going on, Dad?"

"We think Dory is Princess Dorinica."

"What? Dory, a princess?" Nemo was in shock.

"Yeah, kid. It's true. Your friend Dory is probably the princess," Lobby assured.

"Wow! Cool! My dad dated a princess!" Nemo exclaimed as Marlin shied away.

"You did?" Dory gasped. "But you dated me! So you have been seeing someone else? I knew it!" Lobby and Silver stared at her while Marlin buried his face in his fins. "Oh wait, you guys mean me, don't you?"

"Yes, Dory," Marlin groaned.

"I see what you mean about short term memory loss," Silver said.

"So, if Dory's the princess, then what's going to happen to her now?" Nemo was curious.

"Well, this Friday there will be a giant ball to celebrated King Nathaniel's coronation. We hope to have him reunited with his daughter by Thursday so he can announce her at that ball," Silver explained their plan.

"So, she had to leave with you?" Marlin asked.

"Yes, and if she's the princess, she'll have to stay there," Silver added with a slight smirk.

"Oh," Marlin felt his heart sink.

"So, what do you say, Dory?" Lobby asked. "Will you come to the palace with us?"

"Um, well…" her eyes moved from Marlin and Nemo, over to Silver and Lobby and then back to Marlin and Nemo. Here her eyes locked with Marlin's. Words weren't spoken, but both knew they couldn't be separated. Not after all they'd been through together. "Come with me," she said.

"What?" Marlin wasn't sure he heard correctly.

"Come with me," she repeated, this time with more urgency.

"I don't know, Dory. I just can't…" he stopped. He saw the despair in her eyes and it tore through his heart.

"I can't do this alone," Dory pleaded. "Please?"

Marlin looked down at his son and then over to Silver. "How far is it?"

"Well, it's about a day to a day and a half swim to the EAC. Then, it's another day and a half if we ride the current straight through. But I have to warn you, it's a pretty hard ride. Do you think you and your son can handle it?" Silver attempted to scare Marlin off.

"We've ridden it before," Marlin answered calmly.

"Oh," Silver was disappointed, but tried not to let it show. "Well, then all together, I figure we can get there by Wednesday night if we leave this afternoon."

"So, will you come?" Dory asked again.

Marlin glanced at his son and then faced Dory. "Dory, when Nemo was taken, you not only helped me find him, you helped me find myself. I'd be a fool to let you just leave by yourself. I'd be a horrible friend after all you've done for me. Me and Nemo will go with you."

"Thank you!" Dory began to chant excitedly until she suddenly forgot why she was so excited in the first place.

"Great!" Silver forced a smile. "The more the merrier."

They all worked out the details, made plans to meet at the park in a few hours and then went their separate ways. Marlin knew the importance of this trip. He also knew his feelings for Dory were rapidly changing. But now he had less than a week to sort them out and figure out just exactly what she meant to him.

* * *

**Author's Note - **Gotta love the cheesiness :) Reading this back, I realize I've never been one for awesome detail when writing. Guess that's why I would rather be a screenwriter.


End file.
